12/06/2015

Tender apples, cinnamon spice, brown butter streusel, all in a flaky pastry? Come to momma!
I first made this dessert last year and I have been waiting for the right time to make it again and share it (along with countless other recipes that I can't seem to get to because life is, well...BUSY). And since I haven't shared a Sunday dinner post in a very long time, I thought this would be the perfect Sunday to conquer both the making and sharing.

I like to use a mixture of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples for texture and taste reasons. The apples are cooked slightly in a maple syrup sauce before they are baked, so you are guaranteed to have tender apples in the final product. Just keep and eye out on the Golden Delicious cause they can turn to mush quite quickly. I also like a little lemon flavor with my baked apple recipes, so I used a strip of lemon to infuse the maple syrup mixture.

And how about that brown butter streusel? Yeah, I just got weak in the knees. The original recipe called for walnuts in the streusel, but I completely blanked on that one when I was at the store, so I used sliced almonds since I had them on hand. Pecans would work as well.

This is almost the perfect apple dessert. There is just one thing missing. A scoop of vanilla ice cream! Doh! I'm telling you my head is just not screwed on right these days. It's not pictured, but you better believe I ran to the freezer before sinking my fork into a slice of this goodness.

6/17/2015

1. The family photo album needed more pictures of my kids and less of food.

2. I had an attack of OCD and polished my copper pots and pans with a toothbrush.

3. It's been too darn cold the last 10 months to do anything!

4. I ran out of cayenne pepper and kept forgetting to put it on my grocery list.

5. Thought I took a job with Uber, but realized I was just driving my kids around.

6. My new part time job took out the most productive part of my day for blogging.

7. Wrote a screen play with a plot twist involving pork belly...epic fail.

8. Tears from writer's block shorted out my laptop.

9. Consulted my dogs on a flavor for a new wing sauce for Buffalo Wild Wings-- bananas and cheese?!?

10. Brushed up on all the growing varieties and health benefits of kale.

And since I updated my Facebook status a few weeks ago with a recipe coming soon, I have been spending my days chasing and picking up tumble weeds of black Labrador hair. Seriously, I could knit a sweater with them! So, there you have it-- a laugh and the truth. I am human and we all get a little busy. I can't say that my posting will be as frequently as it once was, but the quality of the food will be just as good.

Now on to the recipe... These days I am in major need of dinners that can be made ahead of time and served to whoever and whenever. For example-- last night my son had to be at work at 6:00pm, my oldest daughter had to be at driver's ed from 6:00-8:00pm, and my youngest had to be at soccer practice from 6-7:30pm. So as you can see, we either eat at 8:30pm (and sometimes my son still isn't home yet) or we eat in shifts. This recipe comes in handy for eating in shifts.

The original recipe called for one pound of pasta, but I wanted to use a type of Asian noodle and they only come in 12-ounce packages. So, I subbed the missing carbs with shredded purple cabbage. It adds a bright color, good crunch, and it's a healthier alternative. I also add some scallions for a mild onion flavor, as well as some Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce for a nice flavor boost. It is good cold or at room temperature and leftovers are always well received.